AB Dick Looks to Continue Gutenberg Streak

Friday, May 18, 2001

Press release from the issuing company

CHICAGO, IL -- With a sales winning streak of three years, A.B.Dick anticipates West Coast customers to buy new digital and offset equipment at the Gutenberg Festival. The largest version yet of the award-winning and highly successful Digital PlateMaster series is one device visitors have not seen. Both the new DPM2508 and A.B.Dick QP25 and QP25II one and two-color offset presses will be on display in booth #623 for the May 17-19 show at the Long Beach Convention Center.
For total printing solutions, the A.B.Dick booth is a must stop. Virtually every product on display is new to the Gutenberg audience, generating excitement among customers and A.B.Dick personnel, too. In addition to the new products, A.B.Dick will demonstrate a workflow solution that will produce polyester plates for the 9995A-ICS offset press and provide output at 175-line resolution.
"We view equipment like the 9995A-ICS as a product upgrade with additional enhancements that makes it very appealing to small and mid-sized printers," said Scott MacKenzie, Director of Product Planning for A.B.Dick. "The products at this show have strong features with increased production capabilities and ease of use. They are ideal upgrades for customers with older, twin-tower presses who are looking for greater capability and more efficiency, and at the same time are cost-effective and affordable.
"With more than 1,500 DPM units installed, we believe our new DPM2508 answers the demand for a larger, direct-to-plate product. The 20-inch market is ready for it and we have been writing orders for several months," said MacKenzie.
The DPM2340 continues to generate an outstanding response from the marketplace, especially when sold in tandem with the ScanMaster digital scanning solution. ScanMaster provides off-the-glass capabilities for direct-to-plate work and much more. Customers can import and manipulate hard copy images, text, line art and tints directly into a digital workflow, and maintain the option to use color, black and white, or screened originals and text in the final job, instead of scanning an entire page and sending it direct-to-plate.
The DPM2508 utilizes the same technology as the DPM2340 and its predecessors, only in a larger frame. It will punch plates for 20-inch presses, and with film for four-up presses. The DPM2508 also offers extra functionality and integrated, optional punching on the drum with an internal drying system. Both DPM products work in conjunction with 5 mil, 7 mil and 8 mil polyester plates.
Presses
The A.B.Dick Colour digital press continues to grow legions of fans. At $149,000, it remains the lowest priced, four-color digital press. Since last year's show, many customers have learned of its value in producing high quality, on-demand work for short runs.
The new A.B.Dick QP25II offset press, in conjunction with the new "GS" Townsend second color head, delivers high quality reproduction and performance with four-color process, screens and halftones for the short-run, color market. It images up to 12.6" x 17.3", and prints tight register work at speeds up to 10,000 impressions per hour.
The versatile 9995 offset press was a hot commodity at Gutenberg last year, meeting the heavy demand for true, two-color presses. A.B.Dick believes similar interest will be forthcoming with the semi-automatic, 9995A-ICS with ink control system.
A high quality, two-color digital plate compatible press, the 9995A-ICS features a semi-automatic plate changer with a maximum sheet size of 13.3" x 17.7". Printing at a speed of 10,000 impressions per hour, it dramatically cuts plate-changing time to under two minutes.
The PowerPro 34 is a dynamic, two-color portrait press which places a premium on productivity while promoting superior quality usually found only in larger, more expensive presses. Available in two models, universal or stream feeder, it offers integrated technologies to ensure high print quality and reduce paper waste.
deSign U. and Post-Press
Gutenberg visitors will see a wide format custom printing solution from A.B.Dick for the first time. The deSign U. system appeals to the quick print market as it is a turnkey poster, sign and banner program. A.B.Dick's Professor D. Sign custom software is the key feature to this product. No design experience is necessary to create output, using a large selection of templates or a clipart library of 25,000 images.
The SpineMaster bookletmaker gives any stitched or stapled booklet the appearance of a perfect bound book. Perfect binding of thicker booklets is possible with a stitched spine letting booklets open flat. Bulk is cut by one-third, saving on packaging and shipping costs.
A.B.Dick Company is a leading worldwide supplier to the graphic arts and printing industry, manufacturing and marketing equipment and supplies for all stages of document creation -- prepress, press and post-press -- as well as continuing service and support. For more information, contact Ken Newton, Senior Vice President, Digital Systems Division and Chief Marketing Officer, 7400 Caldwell Ave., Niles, Illinois 60714. Telephone (847) 779-1900, Fax (847) 647-6940, Web site: www.abdick.com.